A logical place to start in any new project or adventure is to ask oneself, “What do I want to learn?” Learning is the cornerstone of our work as service designers; before we can empathize we need to learn about those we are empathizing with.
Image from Forbes.com
What do you want to learn?
Looking ahead to the Cross-Cultural Issues in Service Design course, Senior Lecturer Tarja Chydenius has asked students the same question, “What do you want to learn?” After attempting to come up with a tangible list, I’ve resolved that what I really want to do is learn what I don’t know.
Simon Sinek (2011), author of Start With Why, suggests in his Re:Focus blog that the best way to learn what you don’t know is to move outside of your normal routine. As a self-deemed “serial expat,” I believe there is no better way to do this than to learn about and become immersed in new cultural perspectives.
Speak your truth
If I am to speak my truth, I struggle with issues of culture daily. In an odd way it’s a discomfort zone, yet one that I crave for personal growth. These encounters can be anything from balancing the work culture of five different clients at one time to finding the right way to be culturally sensitive yet inquisitive when I meet a fellow international.
There are times I fear insensitivity so I do or say nothing instead of something. Other times I crave interaction so I do or say something stupid. Sometimes, albeit rarely, I actually get it kind of right. It is in the context of this truth that I uncovered two questions I might spend my whole life seeking a complete answer to, but see this class as another great step in answering:
- How can I better empathize to gain a deeper cultural understanding in both my work as a designer and my life as a whole?
- As a consultant, how can I help others see the value in deeper cultural understanding? How can I teach cross-cultural communication skills to others to enhance projects, but also the professional and personal lives of others?
Ultimately, in this SID Laurea class, I’m looking forward to being challenged and to gaining a deeper insight into how culture makes us who we are and influences the services people seek to sustain and enhance their lives.
Sources
Sinek, S. 2011 You Don't Know What You Don't Know. Re:Focus, June 7. Accessed 17 September 2015. http://blog.startwithwhy.com/refocus/2011/06/you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know.html
Image from Forbes available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/02/11/why-getting-out-of-your-comfort-zone-is-the-best-thing-you-can-do-for-your-career/